SALEM, Ore. – The No. 8 story from the 2015-16 school year for Corban Warrior Athletics came from the track & field, where Warrior men's and women's track & field athletes excelled, setting numerous program records and finishing higher than ever before.
In one of the toughest conferences in the NAIA, the Warrior women's track & field team had never finished higher than fourth place before at the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championships. In 2016, Corban broke down that barrier, and did so in dramatic fashion.
As a team, Corban trailed Northwest Christian University by 0.5 points heading into the final event of the CCC Championships – the 4x400 Relay. Thanks to an outstanding relay, Corban finished nearly five seconds ahead of the Beacons in the race, resulting in enough points in the team standings to leapfrog the Beacons and into third place. The third-place team finish was the highest in program history.
And while that was the race that capped off the meet, there were so many other outstanding performances across all of the track & field events. The 4x100 Relay squad finished in third to score crucial points for the Warrior women, while Kelsey Wright, Sarah Taylor, Crystal Lynch, Alli Ehrhardt, Lindsay Asplund, and Cecilee Russell all garnered All-CCC plaudits thanks to top-three finishes in their respective events.
Following the CCC Championships, Cecilee Russell and Kelly Cruise both went on to compete at the NAIA National Championships. After Cruise finished ninth in the Javelin, Russell became Corban's first-ever NAIA women's track & field All-American with an eighth-place finish and school-record time in the 400 Meter Hurdles.
On the men's side, after a record-setting 2015 year, it was undoubtedly going to be hard to top what happened on the track that year, but the 2016 Warrior men showed that they were ready to raise the stakes.
With a fourth-place finish as a team, the Warriors tied their highest-ever finish on the men's side, equaling their finish from the 2015 campaign. Nathan Martin provided the highlight of the CCC Championship meet for Corban, using a decisive kick in the 200 Meters to come from behind and capture the event championship. In the race, Martin clocked a school record time and registered his second-straight top-three finish in the 200 Meters.
In the throwing events, Dane Walker closed out his Warrior career with a bang, winning the Discus Throw with a school record toss. With the win, he became Corban's first-ever throwing-ever champion. And while Walker won the event, Jason Bracken was not far behind him as he finished in second place, making it the first-time Corban had ever gone 1-2 in a throwing event.
On top of those three key point scorers, Zach Steele and Christian Bohuslavizki both also registered All-CCC performances in the 10,000 Meters and 400 Meter Hurdles, respectively.
With his stellar performance at the CCC Championships, Bohuslavizki qualified for the NAIA National Championships and finished in 13th overall, capping off an exciting second year for the sophomore.
Release Schedule
#10 – June 20 --- Corban's CCC Athletes of the Year
#9 – June 21 --- Academic Excellence
#8 – June 22 --- Historic Year for Corban Track & Field
#7 – June 23
#6 – June 24
#5 – June 27
#4 – June 28
#3 – June 29
#2 – June 30
#1 – July 1
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